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Study details early events of inflammatory response
Dec. 10, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.
Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children? Vanderbilt University Medical Center study offers an answer
Nov. 18, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children.
Grant helps expand VI4’s Artist-in-Residence program
Oct. 29, 2020—An innovative Vanderbilt program that brings together scientists and artists with the shared goal of scientific communication is set to expand with support from a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
New tool to probe genetic mechanisms of disease
Oct. 22, 2020—Vanderbilt Genetics Institute investigators have added a new method to the computational genetics toolbox. Their approach, described in the journal Nature Genetics, integrates vast genomics datasets to predict gene expression and facilitate discovery of genetic mechanisms underlying human diseases.
Researchers create molecular ‘atlas’ of GI tract neurons
Oct. 8, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have generated the first comprehensive molecular “atlas” of genes expressed by the neuronal cells within the intestine that coordinate the functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
‘Scavenger’ molecule may point to new atherosclerosis treatment
Aug. 20, 2020—A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels in mice potentially could lead to a new approach for treating atherosclerosis in humans, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Study gauges specific site stomach cancer risks among ethnic groups
Aug. 6, 2020—Non-white Americans, especially Asian Americans, are at disproportionately higher risk for gastric cancer compared to non-Hispanic white Americans. A new study breaks down this risk according to specific ethnicities and locations within the stomach.
Pseudoislet system expected to advance pancreas and diabetes research
Jul. 30, 2020—The multicellular, 3-D structure of human pancreatic islets — the areas of the pancreas containing hormone-producing or endocrine cells — has presented challenges to researchers as they study and manipulate these cells’ function, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have now developed a pseudoislet system that allows for much easier study of islet function.
New space bolsters infectious disease and immunology discovery
Jul. 9, 2020—The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) recently moved into its new research and administrative home.
New method captures early viral-host protein interactions
May. 7, 2020—Researchers have developed a method to identify the primary interactions between incoming viral RNA genomes and host proteins.
Study finds AI can categorize cancer risk of lung nodules
May. 7, 2020—Computed tomography scans for people at risk for lung cancer lead to earlier diagnoses and improve survival rates, but they can also lead to overtreatment when suspicious nodules turn out to be benign.
Research team awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer
Apr. 15, 2020—A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a program project grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer.